Great Shoals Light

Infobox Lighthouse


caption = Undated photograph of Great Shoals Light (USCG)
location = mouth of the Wicomico River in the Chesapeake Bay
coordinates = coord|38.2143|N|75.8794|W|type:landmark
yearlit = 1884
automated =
yeardeactivated = 1966
foundation = screw-pile
construction = cast-iron/wood
shape = square house
height = 37 ft
lens = fifth-order Fresnel lens
currentlens =
range =
status = replaced with automated light

Great Shoals Light was a screw-pile lighthouse in the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Wicomico River.

History

This light was constructed to mark a narrow channel at the entrance to the Wicomico River, as requested by the Maryland General Assembly in 1882. An appropriation was not made until the following year, and further delays pushed the commissioning date to August 1884.

In 1966 the light was dismantled and a modern automated light was erected on the old foundation.

References

* [http://www.uscg.mil/history/weblighthouses/LHMD.asp Maryland Light Stations] , from the United States Coast Guard
* [http://www.cheslights.org/heritage/greatshoals.htm Great Shoals Lighthouse] , from the Chesapeake Chapter of the United States Lighthouse Society
*cite book
last= de Gast
first= Robert
title= The Lighthouses of the Chesapeake
year= 1973
publisher= Johns Hopkins University Press p. 165